While Indiana Pacers star Paul George might be hesitant to return to his team this season for the stretch playoff run, it seems like George will have no problem returning to Team USA Basketball.
The interesting thing is, George played for the Team USA over the summer when he suffered his horrific leg injury. That was the last time we saw George on a basketball court, in a Team USA jersey.
Following from John Schuhmann of NBA.com.
…when asked about the mini-camp, he was clear that he intends to be there.
“I’m in,” George said. “Of course.”
It’s pretty cool that George does want to play for team USA. His spot on the 2016 olympic team is guaranteed so he could easily not go to the minicamp, but he definitely wants to participate. It’s cool he wants to go but on the flipside, shouldn’t be be focused on returning to the team that pays him the big bucks, the Indiana Pacers?
It should also concern the Pacers that he is so willing to go back to the team and play in the Olympics. George’s injury did cause FIBA and Team USA to change the distance of the stanchions under the rim.
George is coming back, that’s for sure. Whether it’s this season with the Pacers or this summer with Team USA, remains to be seen. A run with the Pacers to go into the playoffs would be fun though, especially if the Pacers got to face off in the first round with the Atlanta Hawks. Plus, the George we see with the Pacers, if he does come back this season, is not going to be the Paul George of old. This summer with Team USA could be a good place to prepare himself for next season, much like Derrick Rose did last summer.
